Today’s anticipated Autumn Statement, as delivered by Rachel Reeves, saw announcements made which effect both individuals and business alike. As with all Statement announcements, the devil will be in the details, which practitioners will hope to see coming out in the next few days/weeks.
The key takeaway points from an estate planning perspective however are as follows:
ISA reform from April 2027
Whilst the ISA allowance is set to remain at £20,000, only £12,000 of this can be placed into cash ISAs from April 2027, with the remaining £8,000 being available only for investment/stocks and shares ISAs. This however only applies to those under 65; individuals over 65 will see no changes to their ISA allowance and can choose to utilise this in full towards cash ISAs should they wish to do so.
Infected Blood Scheme Compensation Payments
Victims of the Infected Blood scandal who receive compensation payments will now see their payments exempted from Inheritance Tax, as Rachel Reeves announced that an exemption will apply “regardless of the circumstances in which those payments are passed down”.
Income Tax Rates
Income Tax and National Insurance thresholds have been frozen for a further three years from 2028, so will remain at their current levels until 2031.
The government has however confirmed that they are increasing the rates of tax on saving and dividend income by 2 percentage points, and creating separate tax rates for property income, with differing dates on when these changes will come into effect:
| Dividends – from April 2026 | Savings – from April 2027 | Property – from April 2027 * | |
| Basic rate | 10.75% | 22% | 22% |
| Higher rate | 35.75% | 42% | 42% |
| Additional rate |
39.35% (unchanged) |
47% | 47% |
* finance cost relief will be provided at the separate property basic rate of 22%
Changes to Agricultural and Business Property Relief from April 2026
One of the less favourable announcements made in last year’s Autumn Statement was that the 100% relief available for assets that qualify as either agricultural and/or business property would be capped at £1 million. Perhaps in a bid to the public outcry that followed, the Chancellor announced today that this relief will now be transferrable between spouses, which may simplify planning for married couples with business and/or agricultural assets.
High Value Council Tax Surcharge
The highly speculated and colloquially dubbed “Mansion Tax” has now been announced and will be levied on properties worth in excess of £2 million from April 2028. Four bands will be put into place, starting with properties valued at between £2-2.5 million facing a Council Tax surcharge of £2,500 per annum, to properties valued at £5 million plus at £7,500 per annum.
A point of relief however to be found in today’s Statement is that no changes have yet been made to other tax planning tools, including the utilisation of the gifts out of excess income exemption and lifetime gifting/taper relief. Such tax planning of course should be considered by way of seeking appropriate legal/financial advice to ensure that any measures taken are both correctly implemented and recorded for ease of future estate administration; as tax planning lawyers, this is something that we can of course assist with.
Other changes announced include a new electric vehicle excise duty from April 2028, salary sacrifice pensions contributions above £2,000 from April 2029 being subject to tax, gambling tax rises and reforms to the Motability scheme to remove luxury vehicles.
Our team of experts at Buss Murton have specific expertise in the areas highlighted above. For advice contact us on 01892 510 222
For bespoke advice on this or any other area of law, get in touch with the team now.
Meet the wider team
